Cheyne-Stokes Breathing?

Question

Explain why individuals can suffer at High Altitude?

Answer 1

in altitude the oxygen level in the air is less. (thin air) that can cause altitude illness which can be treated with o2 and diamox a drug . cheyne stoke breathing is the abnormal breathing pattern noted usually in terminal patients.

Answer 2

The brain continuously monitors the body's status and continuously decides the proper rate and depth of breathing to command. In particular, the brain continuously monitors how much carbon dioxide is contained in the bloodstream.

Breathing is normally controlled by a simple cycle of events:

When the level of carbon dioxide gets too high, the brain sends a "breathe now" command to the breathing muscles.
The act of breathing lowers the level of carbon dioxide in the blood.
There is no stimulus to breathe until the level of carbon dioxide rises again to the "too high" level.
Since the body continuously produces carbon dioxide, the "too high" level is reached again in a few seconds.

Heart failure disrupts this cycle, and Cheyne-Stokes breathing is the result. Heart failure is disruptive because the blood circulates more slowly through the body in heart failure. As a result, the carbon dioxide levels seen by the brain are not current information -- they represent carbon dioxide information from several seconds earlier.

The situation in a patient with heart failure is similar. The brain is acting on old information, and large swings in breathing depth and rate occur. The difference is that the brain does not learn about the delay in carbon dioxide levels, and that the swings in breathing continue.

The best treatment for Cheyne-Stokes respiration is to treat the heart failure.

Answer 3

People who live in lower altitudes get used ot getting all the air their body needs. When they move to higher altitude, the body becomes quickly air-deprived because the air is so thin in higher altitudes.